Steel
by ZObfuscate
Summary: Someone is killing the Legendary Eight (Aeris is Dead rember?) Chapters One and Two up; RandR!
1. Prolouge

My Grand Finale: Steel

_A/N: After I had given up totally on writing my friends convinced me to write this (which is only a prologue) as a leaving statement. This fic is rated (currently) PG-13, but I think it should in fact be A-14, in later installments. Seeing as this might be my last story I won't bother with and disclaimer, so sue me._

It was dark out. At night it's always dark out. Cloud Strife normally welcomed the dark, but tonight was different. Tonight was his son; Zack's second birthday and he wanted to be home in time to give him a present before Tifa put him to bed. Thinking of Tifa put an extra skip in Cloud's step. Tifa Strife (formally Lockheart) was Cloud's wife of three years. Suddenly Cloud heard a sound behind him. He tensed, wishing he had Ultima Weapon with him, but alas Tifa had insisted on putting it into storage. All Cloud had was the small handgun Vincent had given him for a wedding present. Cloud reached into his belt, pulling the weapon from it's concealed position.

"Oh man, Tifa!" Cloud muttered, fresh anger flowing threw him at the thought of Tifa throwing his lovely sword into storage. Cloud brought the gun up, ready to shoot at anything. "Six bullets better make them count." At least the beast can't be very big, otherwise the automated defenses would have killed it. "Come on you bastard I am late for a birthday, attack already." Cloud began moving towards his house. The sound again, it sounded like footsteps. "Oh?" Cloud slipped his gun back into his belt. The sound, coming closer.

"Attack, what a pleasant idea." _That voice? Could it be? _Cloud spun around to meet a blade face to face, or more rather, face to steel.


	2. Chapter One: "Is it Cloud?"

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A/N: Well here it is, finally! I am hoping to have Chapter three up in two to three weeks; bear with me! If you like the story, review! If you don't review and tell me why! If you are too stupid to have an opinion review anyway!

_Ding-dong!_ "Coming!" Tifa Lockheart Strife walked to the front door of her new house in Camerak (a rebuilt Midgar). "Yes?" she swung the door open, outside two men dressed in identical blue suits that placed them as Turks (a new form of police) or bill collectors.

"Mrs. Strife?" The one on the right asked.

"Yes?" Tifa said, so happy at being called 'Mrs. Strife'. "Is it about Cloud?"

"Please, have a seat." The one on the left, " I am Sam Johnstone chief inspector of the Turks. This is my partner, Bill Livingstone. Yes, it is about Cloud." Instead of sitting Tifa sprung forward, growing very worried.

"Has he…been arrested?"

"Please sit." Livingstone. Suddenly he turned to a uniformed police officer behind him. He said something that Tifa was unable to hear before turning once again to her. "I would like you to do something for me." His voice calm and reassuring, he guided her to a seat.

"Yes? Wh…what can I help you with?"

"I would like you to look at something, okay?" Livingstone turned to the same officer again. "Bring it in." Two more officers appeared in the doorway carrying a stretcher. They laid it down in front of Tifa. "Lift the blanket." An officer stepped forward and lifted the blanket. Tifa gasped.

"Do you recognize this man?" Johnstone stepped forward, almost eagerly.

"Y…y…yes. It…it...it's Cloud!" She broke down crying.

"Okay, get it out of here!" Livingstone commanded to the officers.

"Mommy?" A small voiced called form the bedroom.

"Get the kid." Livingstone pointed to the room the voice came from. Johnstone ran off. A minute later he returned with Zack Strife. Zack looked exactly like his namesake, the soldier who accompanied Sephiroth to the reactor on that faithful day when Sephiroth went mad. He had Tifa's dark hark, combined with Cloud's spikes. His eyes where the only thing that separated him form the original Zack; his eyes had a remarkable resemblance to the esteemed warrior Sephiroth himself. Tifa had always denounced it as a freak combining of Mako-Jenova eyes, and human eyes, but recently Cloud had begun to wonder if maybe young Zack had in fact inherited his eyes _from_ Sephiroth. Tifa couldn't understand Cloud's reasoning, something to do with the Sephiroth cloning, he felt that maybe Zack had inherited some of Sephiroth's DNA from Cloud, but Tifa didn't quite get what he meant. Thinking of Cloud made Tifa start crying again.

"Mommy, what wrong, where Daddy?" Johnstone lowered Zack into Tifa's arms. "Mommy, has Daddy re-joined the lifestream?" Tifa stared down at Zack, he never ceased to amaze her, at only two he had the vocabulary of most six or seven year olds. Cloud had said that it was the Mako enhancements, meant to heighten a soldier's awareness, strength, and intelligence. He had been spending a lot of time teaching Zack the teachings of the Cetra, and of the ways of the planet. Tifa didn't really mind, it was Cloud's way of letting go of Aeris, now he didn't have too. She sniffed, then nodded to Zack. "Oh, okay, he be waiting for us?" Tifa nodded again.

"We had better be leaving, and ma'am? Careful of all people with long, thin swords, it appears that is the weapon used against Cloud." Tifa nodded and the Turks left.

"Wait here." Tifa put Zack down on the chair and walked to her pack. From inside of it she pulled out her old PHS and dialed a number. "Barret? You'd better come over here, Cloud's dead."


	3. Chapter Two: "What is a ninja like you d...

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A/N: Well…Chapter Three, it is a little short, but at least it is up, (Damn! I hate FF.NET f**king up all the time!)

Yuffie Kisaragi, and her father stood on the top of Gaia cliff, overseeing the rebuilding of Wutai. The small town had gone through 17 civil wars in the last 5 years, Yuffie was surprised there was anything left to re-build. "Hopefully you will get it right this time, young one." Yuffie lowered her head as her father spoke. At 21 she was _finally_ old enough to lead the Order of Ninjas without interference from her father or his aides, and she told him so. She also pointed out that she was one of the legendary team of people who defeated the evil Sephiroth, five years ago. _Dring-dring!_ Her PHS rang for the first time in three years.

"Yes?" She answered it hoping that it was one of her friends, she missed them so much, and she wanted to show them how much she had grown.

"Yuffie? It's Barret, I have news."

"Oh? What? Another reunion, or does the Planet need my help, _again_?" She was so happy, her wish was coming true, she figured that Barret was phoning about another meeting, and as soon as she got there she would challenge and finally defeat that arrogant Cloud.

"No, it is bad news in fact," Yuffie tensed, "Cloud is dead."

"What?" Yuffie dropped the PHS and it hit an outcropping of rock, then fell down off the cliff, and smashed on the rock-hard ground.

"Is everything alright?"

"No. Cloud is dead." Without so much as a backward glance she leapt from the cliff, landing of a small ledge she ran down the path to Wutai.

Three hours later Yuffie was on her chocobo leaving Wutai she planned to ride strait through the night to Camerak. "Why the hell did Cloud have to die now?" She growled, forcing Yuffie5 (her chocobo) faster. "And you, you are a damn Black chocobo, why can't you go faster? Oh don't bother not like Cloud will either."

"That is only because you didn't ask him."

"What the hell? You are dead! I killed you!" She looked to her left, and then to her right searching for the source of the sound. 

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You, thinking you can lead an army of ninjas and you can't even kill one man." Yuffie stopped Yuffie5 and reached for her PHS, remembering she didn't have it anymore she slide her Conformer from its case on Yuffie5, she jumped down off of her mount and began loading Materia. "Come out from hiding, wimp!" She readied her armor and tied a ribbon to her leg to protect form paralyze spells. She suddenly heard a sound and realized too late that she should have looked up. She felt the bade as it entered her back, and all she could think was, _At least now I can ask Cloud…_


	4. Chapter Three: "Just like old times."

A/N: Not much to say this time, only that I am planning on finishing this story before I work on my others; so be patient and read this one while you are waiting!

The Tiny Bronco was all that mattered to him anymore. He had given up on it a year ago; but lately he had felt a strong need to complete his repairs to it. Shera Highwind thought that maybe he should just give up and throw the "large piece of metal crap" out. But Cid had told her again and again that, "The only piece of metal crap I am throwing out in the near future is going to be my fucking weapons, now get me my damn tea"

The other ladies of the town all felt sorry for her. None of them understood why she would still stand by him. None of them knew that in fact, he wasn't always like this. There had been times when he was actually sweet. It was just that recently he had to begin to resent things, to really _hate_ things. She stood now inside of their doorway watching him moving around under the Bronco, grumbling the entire time. She sighed, as much as she didn't want to believe it, it was true, and Cid needed some action. He needed to find the rest of the heroes, and get some action.

When she mentally counted how long it had been since his last fight, she knew then that she was right. Shera sighed again then picked up a teacup she had set down and walked over to the edge of the Bronco. "Cid, tea."

"About fucking time, what the hell where you doing? Grinding and bagging the leaves by hand? Or did you just fucking well fall asleep and forget about it?" Shera handed Cid the cup. She didn't mind his insulting that much anymore. She just learned to live with it. "What the hell are you standing around for? If you ain't gunna help, get the hell outa here." Shera nodded and left.

Cid sighed; as soon as Shera had gone inside of their house he tossed the tea. He had lost the taste for it when Shera had made him give up his smokes. He looked over at the pack on the ground. It was empty of course, but it still had the same calming effect that the smokes had. He stood up and moved over to a small shed located in the far corner of his yard, inside the shed where his weapons. They where all worn and damaged with age and lack of use.

He reached first for the Venus Gospel. It had always been his favourite. He picked it up, feeling the familiar grip of it in his old, scarred, hands. Its two yellow fins had been broken off; he remembered it was form the time he has tossed the heavy lance, hoping to be rid of it. Of course he had leapt his fence and retrieved it, but the ensuing struggle to get it back in the shed without Shera noticing had cost him its two fins.

He slowly ran his hand down the length of it. He gasped when he found three materia still in the slots. A time materia linked with an All materia. "What's this one then?" he touched the last materia, "The Knights Of The Round!?" He suddenly remembered that faithful battle, Cloud had entrusted him with the special materia, he remembered his pried when he had cast the spell and the others had to mimic him. He must have accidentally left it in there when they where packing up. Cloud had all of the other materia now, so Cid figured he should go and give it back.

Just for old times sack though, he wanted to try it one more time. "Alright ya fucking plane, you have had it!" He positioned himself in front of the Bronco and prepared to cast the spell, when he suddenly heard a sound behind him. He stopped the summon spell and swivelled around, instincts telling him that the sound wasn't caused by Shera.

"Oh? You going to use that against me again?" The voice, Cid remembered it; hearing it again still brought a shiver to his spine.

"You? What the fuck are you doing back?" Cid slowly circled the plane; sure the he had heard the voice form inside of it. "Come on out so I can fucking well use this on you again. You want to die again?"

"No, I want you to." Cid turned in time to the smile on the face of his killer; and to feel the touch of cold steel going trough his neck.


End file.
